We mark July 4, 1776, the signing date of the Declaration of Independence, as America's Conceptional Birthchart. Dane Rudhyar chose 5:12 pm local time as the time of the signing, a subject of much debate among astrologers. Elizabeth Clare Prophet matches Rudhyar's estimate, moving the time up one minute to 5:13 pm. I agree with Rudhyar and Prophet and am basing my analysis on the 5:13 pm time.

With her Sun (national ego) in the sign of the mother, America will continue to see herself dedicated to harboring, nurturing and protecting others, not only her own but with Jupiter conjoined the Sun and ruling the Ascendant, those beyond her own boundaries. She could, however, be overbearing, patronizing or prone to establishing co-dependent relationships with other nations and even within the social systems of her own boundaries. More so, with the fiery conviction of Sagittarius Rising she will justify herself in doing so, even at the expense of reason at times. Cancer is a water sign. Even as Americans as a whole are a compassionate and caring people, we have also been known to be sentimental, overly extravagant perhaps in our generosity (Venus) or at times acting in an almost adolescent (Sun/Jupiter/Venus) optimism, as well as wasteful in government.

Not only the nation as mother, but the government as father. If we were considering the birth chart of an individual, we would note the square to the Sun from Saturn and we would surmise that this person would have conflicts with the father, would redefine him/herself (Saturn trine Uranus) within a unique ideology, would struggle to reconcile loyalty and independence without losing original roots. So it was since America's very beginnings when in severing her ties to the father country England, she redefined her new identity. This basic mistrust of government assuming too much control is part of the national consciousness. Nevertheless, Saturn (father) in Libra (the scales of justice) dominating the chart in the 10th house of government shows the strong American respect and love for the law as mediator (Libra) and ultimate authority (10th house) as well as her highly developed social sense (Libra).

This Cancer grouping is also a powerful influence for trade and commerce. (Cancer is the most prevalent sign in the charts of the 500.) After all, no one manages like the mother! The Conceptional Pluto lies in the 2nd house of banking and national income in opposition to Mercury in the 8th house which represents the national debt and interest rates. Mercury, meanwhile, forms a quincunx aspect to the Moon (public) and a square (block) to Saturn (restriction). The square shows an ignorance public attitude or occulting of the truth from the public despite the prolific press (Mars in Gemini) or perhaps abetted by them (Mercury rules Gemini). With Pluto governing the 12th house cusp (hidden enemies) placed in Scorpio (power/financing) we see the suggestion for the need of the public (Moon) to become enlightened (Mercury) to the presence of the power elite (Pluto/Capricorn) in the economy and in the government (Capricorn). Furthermore, Saturn, which rules the Pluto position in the money house, while well aspected in Libra high at the top of the chart forms a challenging square to Jupiter in the 7th house. Pluto will always challenge the highest potential in a natal or collective chart as well as stimulate the darker elements. In the 2nd house of money, we see the seed of many of the nation's ills and inconsistencies. Attachment to material gain, for example, certainly fed the evils of slavery, and the mass destruction of the American Indian, policies so in contrary to the basic spirit of freedom and equality of opportunity America is all about.

Now, the positioning of the Squares can indicate dynamic energy, especially when in Cardinal signs, and so as Elizabeth Clare Prophet points out in the Astrology of the Four Horseman, the square of Saturn (system and organization) to Jupiter (wealth and expansion) establishes a theoretical (Jupiter) and practical (Saturn) framework for a dynamic economic system capable of producing wealth through a free market economy (Uranus) and property rights. Nevertheless, as Prophet also explains, this stressful grouping at times interacts in such a way as to seriously reduce economic activity in the United States.

Strong transits to this opposition during the nation's history have made a lasting impression. Note, for example, during the Jacksonian years (1820s) as Uranus (disruption, reform) entered the U.S. 2nd house, when Jackson determining to undermine the newly created Bank of the United States an institution he viewed as corrupt and undemocratic, placing too much power in the hands of a few men in private enterprise, waged his wars on the banks.

Another time economic activity was severely hampered by challenging transits was in 1929. On December 30, 1929, Venus, Mars, Saturn, the Sun and Moon all conjoined in the first ten degrees of Capricorn, thereby activating the U.S. Conceptional Venus/Jupiter/Sun//Saturn square forming a temporary T-square, an aspect of significant, in this case, economic, tension. Meanwhile, transiting Mercury at 27 degrees Capricorn activated the U.S. natal Pluto/Mercury opposition in the banking houses. The effect was limited cash flow, unemployment and the worse financial crisis in recorded history up to that time. The times were exacerbated by Neptune in Virgo, a Neptune Return, activating the U.S. Moon-based Finger of God, and bringing forth deep-seated anxieties and depression and perhaps an inherent mistrust of government as manager.

In 1988, Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune entered Capricorn, activating the collective subconscious memory of the 1929 depression and kicking off a period of economic recession. Suddenly (Uranus), we found we would have to do more with less. This cycle gained momentum with the famous Megaconjunction of Jan. 11, 1994 when 7 planets met in Capricorn. The major agents of philosophical and active change in this grouping, Uranus and Neptune, are headed for 27 degrees Capricorn, Uranus as early as January, 1995 where for two years, the Awakener (and shatterer) once again activates the U.S. Pluto/Mercury opposition.

A strong Cancer focus implies a great love for the land and her bounty. Sagittarius Rising is ruled by Jupiter, planet of expansion. In 1816, Uranus crossed the Ascendant and entered the U.S. Conceptional first house. In a natal chart, a person might change their image radically and would be cautioned not to gain too much extra weight! These were the days when talk of America's manifest destiny to expand her territories westward were on everyone's tongue. During the six years Uranus remained there, six new states, all of them frontier and five of them definitely Western, were added to the Union: Indiana (1816), Mississippi (1817), Illinois (1818), Alabama (1819), Maine (1820) and Missouri (1821). Unlike water, fire signs tend to be self-centered. A negative expression of the Sagittarian personality is hypocrisy. Unfortunately, in her fulfillment of her manifest destiny westward, the government (certainly not all the people) broke treaty after treaty with the native American.

Now, the Cancer Crab when injured, or when in danger, retreats into his shell. So, despite the idealism and naturally expansive influence of Sun/Jupiter, the individual patriot, the nation herself will retreat within in times of duress. In a natal chart, we would see a person who couldn't do enough for others, who could be overprotective and who probably at times sets himself up to being used, but when unappreciated would either retreat or snap back! Yet because Sagittarius (foreign lands, investors, peoples) figures so prominently in the U.S. chart, we know these periods of withdrawal will be the exception, not the rule. Sagittarius reaches out even as Cancer draws in. A Sagittarius trait is no limitation and don't fence me in.

Since Sagittarius relates to foreign countries, significant aspects to the U.S. ascendant, especially conjunctions from major outer planets, will strongly color her foreign policy and how she comes off to the rest of the world.

On the negative side, Jupiter ruled Sagittarius can be impulsive, impatient with detail, and not prone to getting involved without proper planning. The opposition to Mars (military) shows the danger of military involvements of this type as well as a weakness of failing to maximize military victories by following them through to completion and seeing to post-war details, as indeed happened in WW II, Vietnam and Desert Storm.

When we think of Cancer, we think of Mom and apple pie and homespun virtues, and common-sense management, certainly part of the traditional American can-do spirit. But with Cancer's natural ruler, the Moon, representing the family and women, in radical Aquarius, we know the American family and specifically the American woman would never fit the common mold.

Aquarius deals with innovation and invention. The U.S. Aquarian Moon trines U.S. Venus and Jupiter. America has been the home to many inventions and technological breakthroughs. Many of these have freed women (Moon) from the humdrum of household existence to actively seek integration in the work force.

The Moon rules the people, women in particular, as well as the collective subconscious. The Moon is quincunx Mercury and Neptune, forming a Moon-based Finger of God, a major challenge in the chart especially as the Moon rules the Sun (national identity).

One of the most positive aspects in the U.S. conceptional chart is Saturn in Libra trine Uranus in Gemini; Novo Ordo Seclorum, the makings of a new order, based on the best of the past (Saturn) restructured with a new vision of freedom (Uranus), diversity of expression (Gemini), and economic opportunity (6th house) in a free enterprise system. The success of this great vision is based on education (Gemini) of the people.

Uranus has an approximately 84-year cycle. The next Uranus return found Americans united against a common enemy: Hitler and the forces of Nazism and Fascism. Neptune had by then returned to its home position. On Pearl Harbor Day, Neptune formed a tight trine to the U.S. Pluto which you recall is in her 2nd house of banking.

Pluto in Capricorn: all beginnings begin in Capricorn. Capricorn deals with political power structures. In the U.S. conceptional chart Pluto in Capricorn enjoys a supportive trine to Neptune in Virgo, both being earth signs, showing the potential crystallization of spiritual and mystical goals into the physical, and particularly in government (Capricorn) and in the economy (2nd house). The Neptune/Pluto sextile which characterizes all those born in the latter half of the 20th century will restimulate the Neptune/Pluto trine in the U.S. chart. We need to recapture and update the vision of the original American patriots and come back to first principles. When the last Pluto opposition occurred, America found herself in the grips of the depression (late 1930s). When Pluto returns to Capricorn once more, the U.S. will have completed a major cycle of definition. New structures will emerge. These are in the works even now as the planets of the powerful Megaconjunction conjoin Pluto in the U.S. conceptual chart. The every-man struggle to make ends meet will demand a major restructuring of the economy. How much of a role government has to play in free enterprise is a major issue. As Uranus slips into Aquarius and trines the U.S. natal Uranus/Saturn trine, exciting new reforms will take place (1997), integrating the electronic revolution into the workplace, and individual enterprise will boom bigger than ever before. The health system is likely to find its much-awaited restructuring. Pluto, however, creeps toward the U.S. Ascendant, conjoining the Ascendant in January of the year 2000, after a series of opposition to Uranus. Social unrest and impatience threaten the peace as well as the threat of foreign wars. Threats to the social order from within and from without as well as terrorism loom upon the horizon. Nevertheless, if America retains the eye of her true identity and mission, she will emerge victorious. The reaction to these changes and much social changes will occur especially as a result of Uranus and Neptune's transit over the Conceptional Moon. The position of women will continue in her revolution. Our hope is in a revolution in education. Pluto will return to Capricorn in 2010. The cycle will be complete and we will see if this great experiment of the ages will indeed renew on a higher order still, free men having secured their right to live in freedom, prosperity and peace.